Mother used to say “Be grateful for small mercies” which meant I was to be thankful for something rather unpleasant NOT being worse!
Just for the record though, my perception of the word grateful means a feeling of appreciation, not always necessarily followed up by some public display of affection. Sometimes you see it is befitting and a good idea to show your gratitude and sometimes it is most certainly NOT appropriate! There is a Nigerian proverb that reminds us: ‘By being grateful, a man makes himself deserving of yet another kindness.’ So by all means, it’s a good idea to be grateful (a feeling) and to allow kindness to flow to you, through you and on to all others on this most blessed day (whatever day you read this) on this most miraculous planet Earth, in this mysterious and wondrous universe (perhaps just a speck on some pollen of a flower).
Over Soil 